Been sitting 20 years

G&N Farms

G&N Farms

Senior Member
Hi, I'm new here. Been lurking for awhile, and am going to buy an A by the springtime. Here is what I need to know. I found a truck that has been sitting for 20 years after the restore. It looks great, but has been sitting. How much will or would it take to get back on the road? Gas, coolant,battery, brakes, trans fluid and so on. It is immaculate, the nibs are still on the tires. Not a set price but a ball park range. If too much I might buy a running truck for 3 or 4 grand more.
I hope this isn't too vague, but I won't know more until I buy.

Thanks
 
Make sure it cranks over using the hand crank, check all fluids,point plugs, wiring etc Look over good. Or find a local club member in your area by going to www.mafca.com under chapters in your state,bring them along to help check it out. They'll be glad to do it I'm sure. 6volt system, POSITIVE ground. That's your best bet,If it's your first Model A. Good luck Welcome to the hobby.!!
 
I got my 1930 cope running agiain after almost 30 year. You should just plan on replace all the fluids, and get a new battery. Like Gary stated, make sure then engine turns over by hand first. I replaced all the radiator hoses and had to rebuild the carb. It was relatively cheep to get it running, I spent around $300, ****** and diff oil, motor oil, battery hoses and carb kit. I ran strait water initially, as I live in warm ca and I flushed it after every run.
I also pulled the hubs and checked the breaks pads and the wheel bearings, in my case they were in good shape. I then had lots of minor things to fix as I was road testing, the fuel shut off valve for one. In order to make it dependable enought to venture a few miles form home cost me about $400 and a lot of my own time. Engine timing was a issue. Once it was running well I then started thought the rest of car. I also bought a head gasket, figuring it would need replacement, but it is working fine.
One thing is mine car my family so I new the history. I new the engine had been rebuilt soon before it sat, my dad did it, so I new it was new.

Good luck with yours, I enjoy mine.
 
My Model A sat for at least 20 years before I bought it. All my valves were seized, the cam would open the valves but the valve spring wouldn't close them. A compression test would be a good idea.
 
It's a 30 pick-up. Very nice looking and was parked after it was restored 20 years ago. I haven't bought it yet but am hoping. Just wondering what goes bad after sitting so long. I know the gas is bad and will need all fluids replaced and a new battery and possibly a new or rebuilt carb. Just didn't want to find out it will take 2 grand to get running. I used to restore British cars in the 80's and know after setting there are things that go bad from setting.
I did not want an original car/truck until I saw this one. I fell in love and can't wait until spring. :D The owner and I are still talking price, a slow process, not me.

Thanks for the great info
p.s. I plan on contacting the local A club
 
In 1999 I bought my 31 Town Sedan that had been setting since 1957, due to a bad cam gear. I changed the gear, put in gas and a battery and it purrs like a kitten. I could only drive it one mile though because 3 of the 4 plys were showing on a couple tires.

If this was restored there should be no reason to drop the oil pan, etc. to look for junk. If the valves aren't stuck you should be able to put in gas and a battery and drive it. I'd oil and grease all the moving parts. Mechanical brakes should be as good as the day they were restored, which you can't say about hydraulic brakes.
 
One thing I knowticed about things that sit is grease chanels tend to get clogged with dryer grease and can take some cleaning out
 
When I bought my 31 PU a couple of years ago, it had been 20 years since it had been restored. It might as well have sat for the whole 20 years as it only had about 1,100 miles on it in the 20 years. The previous owner had changed out some of the fluids, and it had a new battery. The carb and tires are what suffered the most. Everything in the carb had dried out and it leaked like a sieve. The tires, while they still had the nubbies on them were dry rotted in the sidewalls. I changed out the carb, but am still running the tires. I do have "new" ones now, but haven't put them on yet. Radiator hoses, fan belt, and several other items also had to be replaced.

All in all, it wasn't all that bad. The major thing I have had to contend with was the use of terms like "restored", "overhauled", etc. in the descriptions given by the seller. A lot of times it really meant "cleaned, painted, and put back together".

I'm still finding things that aren't quite right with my truck, but I went into this with the idea that as long as I had a good solid framework and body, I could handle the mechanical, and it's worked out pretty much that way.
 
In 1965 I bought a 30 phaeton that had sat out in a field for 8 yrs with no top.The interior was rotted out & had about 4" of dead leaves in it.Mice had chewed the wiring & the tires were rotting.I installed a Wico mag to by-pass the wiring,pumped the tires up & drove it home-about 175 miles.I had taken along all the wheels of my 31 Vicky but made it home without a flat.The next day a tire blew sitting in the driveway.
 
Welcome to the hobby/addiction G&N. If the car was stored inside that is great the deterioration will have been kept to a minimum. Check the wiring for mice chewing and breaks. The engine, I would do the above checks but when you get it home take it apart as you don't know what the previous owner did to it, unless there are receipts.

Enjoy the truck if you get it and drive the heck out of her.

Mike
 
From what I have read I wouldn't drive it very fast without replacing the tires. They tend to get old just setting. I am not basing this on personal experience just what I have seen posted. Check the archives.

Charlie Stephens
 
1930artdeco said:
Welcome to the hobby/addiction G&N. If the car was stored inside that is great the deterioration will have been kept to a minimum. Check the wiring for mice chewing and breaks. The engine, I would do the above checks but when you get it home take it apart as you don't know what the previous owner did to it, unless there are receipts.

Enjoy the truck if you get it and drive the heck out of her.

Mike
Click to expand...

I like things fixed right, but I wouldn't take the engine apart to see what was done. I'd run it first, and if it sounds good and doesn't smoke, then just drive it.
 
I have owned 19 Model A's. All were unrestored until the last two I purchased. In 2002 I bought a 68C Cabriolet that had been driven only 50 miles after a complete frame off resto. which was completed in 1972. Yes it sat for 30 yrs. after the owner died. It was in a heated attached garage which helped. I replaced all the fluids, lubed everything & it started right up. It has been driven over 10,000 miles since with no problems. In 2009 I bought an early 60B Briggs leatherback that had a frame off resto. except for the interior ,which I'm doing now. That fordor sat from 1985 until I bought in 09. Again, I changed all fluids & it's been fine. I did replace all the brake linnings which were the molded type & installed the wooven style. This improved the braking greatly. Both cars had new tires installed when they were restored & I have not changed them. Although I do have a new set to put on the Cabby. Bottom line I would not worry about buying a Model A that sat for 20 yrs. A car with hyd. brakes is another question.
 
My '31 pick up sat, untouched for 44 years, buried in back of a warehouse in Brooklyn,N.Y. I got it back to Mass,(home),in 2010, spent a week or two checking things out, changed the oil twice, other fluids were checked out, cleaned carb., gas lines, installed tank micro filter and bought a new gas shut-off valve, a battery, new tires. she started right up on the first revolution, ran fine! I knew I would need to address the brakes and other very important safety issues, had it registered and insured a week later. no problems either.
 
To get the engine cranked and running, here is what I would do. If the engine is not stuck ,I would first remove all of the spark plugs. I would turn the engine over with the starter while holding my thumb tightly over the spark plug holes. While turning the engine over it should blow your thumb off the plug hole when it comes up on compression. If all cylinders pass the thumb test, You have compression. Any cylinder that fails the test will probably have a stuck valve in the open position. If the engine only turns a small amount and then will turn no farther, a valve is probably stuck in the closed position. A tight or rebuilt engine is more likely to stick than a worn engine. If it turns and passes the thumb compression test, I would change the oil. First remove the distributor, drain the oil, pour three quarts in the oil filler tube and one quart in the hole that the distributor came out of. Replace the distributor. I would then Throughly sand the contacts on the points and set the gap at .022, clean the rotor tip with fine sandpaper, clean and set the gap on the spark plugs at .035. I always polish up the spark plug connectors with a scotch brite pad or steel wool. You will need to drain the old fuel and replace with fresh gas without ethanol if you can find any. If gas starts pouring out the carburetor when the gas is turned on, first try tapping on the top of the carburetor with a wrench or screwdriver handle to jarr the needle valve, unstuck. If tapping on top of the carb doesn't stop the leak, it will be necessary to remove and clean out the carb. If all of the tests passed I would push the spark lever all the way up, turn the knob on the choke open about one turn to the left off the seat, pull the throttle lever down verv slightly, Turn the ignition on , pull the choke and press the starter button. If it was running when it was parked this should get you started. It won't take much choking, usually one turn of the engine with the choke pulled is all that is needed, You don't to flood the engine. If it cranks pull the spark down and adjust the throttle lever for idle. when it warms up a bit and begins to lope, close the knob on the choke to the right until it is about a quarter turn off the seat. This should get you going. Good luck.
 
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